Indian stocks still in a bull market phase: Ramesh Damani

Technical signals show the market is in a good shape right now, Damani said.

Technical signals show the market is in a good shape right now, Damani said.

NEW DELHI: Despite recent volatility, the domestic stocks are very much in the bull phase of the market, says Ramesh Damani, Member, BSE.

“We are well within the constructs of a bull market. However, market needs to climb over the worries of simmering crude prices, Lok Sabha elections and rising interest rates,” opined Damani in an exclusive interaction with ETNow.

The Navab of Dalal Street added that a bull market can last for up to 10 years with three years of no return, as most of the academic study says the sharpest gains come in the fewest days in the market. "It's not about timing the market, but time in the market," he said.

Sharing his views on sharp correction in midcap stocks, Damani said he didn't see anything unhealthy in the midcap space and good stocks will rebound faster. He added that market is now looking at fundamentals and policies rather than news flow. "Midcap returns of 45 per cent plus returns of last year cannot be repeated. Volatility is the beast in the stock market; no other reason for midcap moves," Damani said.

Smallcap and midcap stocks have fallen like a pack of cards in 2018, eroding a huge amount of investors' wealth. The BSE Midcap index has slipped over 10 per cent since the beginning of 2018.

Technical signals show the market is in good shape right now and there's no evidence of a bear market, he said.

The ace investor bets on contrarian themes such as consumption, construction, tech and aviation. In the construction space, he advised avoiding debt-laden companies. Damani said government's infra push and strong order book will aid construction space. He added that bigger companies in this space are better placed.

On crude oil, Damani hoped to see some decline in the prices. “$60-65 per barrel seems fair,” he said.